Warriors schedule: Projecting Golden State's record after brutal upcoming 4-game stretch

While the Golden State Warriors have looked absolutely fantastic during their 5-1 start to the 2024-25 NBA season, it's important to remember that they really haven't faced an elite team just yet.

The four teams they've beaten thus far — the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans (twice), and Houston Rockets — have a combined record of 8-18 heading into Monday night's slate of games. And the one team to whom the Dubs lost, that being the Los Angeles Clippers, has only captured one other victory thus far, starting the season at 2-4.

To their credit, the Warriors have notched three of their five wins without the services of Steph Curry, who's missed the last three games with an ankle injury. Backup point guard De'Anthony Melton has sat out the last three as well, and Andrew Wiggins missed both games against the Pelicans.

Thankfully for Steve Kerr, his deep roster has been able to pick up the slack. Just about everyone has contributed, none more so than Buddy Hield, who leads the team in scoring at 22.2 points per game and has made the second-most threes in the league, notching 30 in his first six games in a Golden State uniform.

Overall, the Warriors have put up 121.0 points per game, the third-most in the league, and have allowed 103.0 per game, the second-fewest in the NBA. They're getting the job done on both ends of the floor. Again, though, one has to consider the competition.

That said, it's time to see where this team truly stands. Monday night's opponent isn't the strongest either, as Golden State visits the two-win Washington Wizards. To close out their five-game road trip, however, the Warriors will take on the one-loss Boston Celtics on Wednesday, the currently undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, and then the currently undefeated Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Yeah, that's a rough stretch. So what will the Warriors' record be when they welcome Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks to the Chase Center next Tuesday to open up group play in the NBA Cup? Let's take this game-to-game, shall we?

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like The Whiteboard, share it with an enemy.

at Washington Wizards (11/4)

The Warriors got great news on Monday, as Curry is set to return to the court against Washington. His status was still listed as "questionable" even after participating in the team's shootaround, but he is set to test out the ankle that's kept him sidelined for the last week.

Here's the thing, though. Even if No. 30 only plays limited minutes just to get back into the swing of things, the Warriors shouldn't have much trouble with the Wizards, which is why they're double-digit favorites in most of the major sportsbooks.

In their first five outings, the Wizards have allowed 122.8 points per game, the second-most in the league. So, Golden State should be able to feast on the offensive end.

Washington is coming off a 20-point loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday, and another big defeat is likely in the cards for Monday. The Warriors will move to 6-1 here.

at Boston Celtics (11/6)

Outside of their dominant season-opening performance against the New York Knicks, the defending champion Celtics, like the Warriors, don't have an overly impressive win on their resume, since earning victories over the Wizards, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, and Charlotte Hornets (twice), who have a combined record of 7-17 at this point.

And their opponent on Monday night, the 3-4 Atlanta Hawks, isn't overly strong either.

The Celtics' lone loss this season came against the Indiana Pacers, who were up by as much as 24 in the third quarter before Boston mounted a furious comeback to force overtime. The Pacers were able to accumulate such a lead by hitting threes and beautifully distributing the basketball. Sound familiar?

The Celtics currently lead the league in scoring, putting up 123.7 points per game. But outside of New York, they've yet to face a top-10 defense. And you know Draymond Green will get some extra minutes here in an effort to keep Jayson Tatum from taking over.

If Curry sits this one out, I'm not sure Golden State can take this one. But if he goes, which he should, I think the Warriors win here. It'll be close regardless, but the Dubs move to 7-1.

at Cleveland Cavaliers (11/8)

By the time the Warriors roll into Cleveland on Friday night, the Cavaliers should still be undefeated, as they've got the one-win Bucks on Monday and the Pelicans on Wednesday.

Unlike Boston, Cleveland has both a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense. During the Cavs' 7-0 start, they've scored 123.1 points per game, the second-most behind only the Celtics, and have given up the sixth-fewest, allowing 108.4.

The Lakers were 3-1 when they rolled into town the night before Halloween, and the Cavaliers simply steamrolled them en route to an easy 24-point victory, which was one of five double-digit wins for Cleveland thus far.

What's been beautiful about this opening run is that, like the Warriors, the Cavaliers have gotten significant contributions from just about everyone on the roster. In their seven wins, four different players have led the team in scoring.

Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley shouldn't be a surprise, but the fact that Dean Wade led the way once with a 19-point effort against the Pistons might be. Like the Warriors, the Cavaliers are a deep team, and they'll just get past Golden State here to drop the Dubs to 7-2.

at Oklahoma City Thunder (11/10)

Off to a 6-0 start, the Thunder should easily win two of their next three games ahead of next Sunday's matchup with Golden State, as they've got the Orlando Magic on Monday and the Rockets on Friday. The only genuine threat they face is on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets.

But let's not forget that OKC trounced the Nuggets by 15 in their season opener, so they could very well be 9-0 when the Warriors visit.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is looking like a legit NBA MVP candidate at this point, averaging 26.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.

And Chet Holmgren, who just continues to get better and better with each passing week, is having a solid campaign as well, putting up 17.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and a league-leading 3.3 blocks per game.

Don't forget about Jalen Williams either, as the third-year forward has been great on both ends of the floor as well, averaging 17.5 points, 6.7 boards, 5.3 assists, and a team-leading 2.0 steals. That's a strong 1-2-3 punch with that trio right there.

You remember how the Warriors have allowed the second-fewest points in the league? Well, the Thunder are even better defensively, giving up just 97.5 points per game thus far. They're not quite as potent offensively as Boston or Cleveland, but they're still scoring 115.2 points per game and can beat teams in a number of different ways.

The Warriors might hang for a while, but in the end, they'll drop their second straight to fall to 7-3.